The Joy of Callings

I was driving around tonight with the girls, trying to make at least visual contact with some ladies I visit teach. We (by we I mean mostly me but Sydney did help a little) made cinnamon rolls and I also had a note with some quotes from September's message. Anyway, here's how a little conversation between Sydney and myself went down as we were driving around:

"Mom, why are you visiting these people? Do you know these people?"
"I'm visiting them because the Relief Society President asked me to, and I know one of them, but that's why I'm trying to visit them, so I can get to know the other ones."
"Why do we need a Relief Society President?"

And so I explained about Relief Society - what it is, who goes, what we try to accomplish, etc.

"So you help the Relief Society by visiting these ladies?" (Oh, and we talked about how I only visit ladies because it's a women's organization.)
"Yes."
"So...you also help in Primary with the piano?"
"Yes."
"So...you also help with the Scouts?"
"Yes."
"So, you pretty much help with everything?"

And I just laughed. Her brain just never stops, except when she sleeps. I think.

Honestly, I was having not the best day today; but just driving around dropping these things off and only talking to one person who wasn't even who I was trying to visit teach made me feel better. It reminded me of feelings I got as a missionary, only slightly better because at the end of my adventures I got to come home to a husband I love and two girls I adore.

Big Weekend for Sydney

Saturday she got to go to a friend's birthday party - they made their own pizzas, played games, decorated goodie bags, and smacked a princess pinata (yes, it was a little strange watching a bunch of 4 and 5 year-old girls swatting at a princess with all their might). Fun times.

After the party, she went with Nate and some friends to the circus that came into town - Ringling Brothers, I believe. A fun daddy-daughter date. I think she had a fabulous time - she especially liked the tigers and the trapeze artists. Oh, and all the candy helped her have a wonderful time, too. :)

Then today was our Primary Program, for which I played the piano, being the Primary Pianist. The kids did well, but of course we just loved watching Sydney share her lines: "I know that I am one of Heavenly Father's children. My earthly parents are teaching me to follow Jesus' example and to keep the commandments."

I like to tell her "You are sweet, you are good, you are special, you are smart. And you are a child of God." Tonight as we were tucking her into bed I was telling her this, she responded very matter-of-factly, "I know, Mom." I asked how she knew, and she said, "My part from the Primary Program says I'm a child of Heavenly Father." Duh! Anyway, my heart was very full of love and motherly pride for her today. Precious little girl.

Brian Regan

Tonight Nate and I enjoyed a very fun night out, courtesy of my awesome sister Larisa. As a rather early birthday present to me, she got us tickets to watch Brian Regan live at the Singletary Center on UK's campus. For those of you who are not familiar with Brian Regan, he is a hilarious comedian. We just about died laughing. I think my abs will hurt for a week, at least. For those of you who are familiar with him, he is fantastic live. If you ever get the chance, don't miss seeing him. It's side-splitting, laugh-till-you-cry entertainment. Thank you, thank you, thank you Larisa!! You're the best. We loved it.

Afterwards we stopped at DeSha's for dinner, a place downtown we've been wanting to try for some time. It's just across the street from Rupp Arena, and the lit-up waterfalls they have in that little park looked so chummy from our little window view. It was a great romantic few hours together (and out of the house) - memories that will last a long while. Thanks again, Larisa, for thinking of us.

Bangs

The last time I had legit bangs was probably in grade school, so this was a big step for me. What do all you folks out there in cyberspace think?? They are growing on me (no pun intended). I think I like them, but the verdict is still out. Let me know your opinion. I think almost everyone who sees this blog will have only known me without bangs.

P.S. This is my true, untainted hair color, I haven't done anything to it in years. I think it looks darker with bangs. And sorry the pictures are a little fuzzy...

What do you love about it?

Some of you may be familiar with that line from the movie "The Saint" with Val Kilmer - used to be a favorite movie of mine back in the day. I was reminded of that line when today Sydney kept asking me what I loved about things. It all started after a trip to the library, where I have the girls get a bunch of books and 1-2 movies each visit. This trip, Sydney choose the movie "Fern Gully" as one of her movies to borrow.

"Mom, what do you love about the movie "Fern Gully?"
"Not much, it's not my favorite movie."
"But Mom, what do you love about it?"
"Well, I love that it has a lot of bright colors in it."
"Do you love Maggie's dress?"
"Yes, it's very pretty."

Later that same car ride home...

"Mom, what do you love about everything in the world?"
"Hhhmmm. I love spaghetti and meatballs, chocolate, movies, reading books, being outside, Daddy, you, Holly, all of our family, flowers..."

Later tonight...

"Mom, what do you love about Indians?" (Don't ask me where that came from.)
"I love that they used things from nature in everything they have - their jewelry, their houses, their art, their clothes. What do you love about Indians?"
"Pocohantas."

A few minutes ago...

"Mom, what do you love about me?" (Actually, she asks this of me on a regular basis.)

She cracks me up! I really love her.

Lollipops and Cougars

Sydney wanted a lollipop tonight, and Holly happened to be sitting right next to her at the table when Nate gave her one. Instantly, Holly began insisting, "Alibabap! Alibabap!" (Translation: Lollipop! Lollipop!) Someone help me, I'm going to eat that girl up before she even makes it to 2 years old...

In more important news, BYU defeated Wyoming 44-0, the second week in a row of keeping our opponents scoreless! Nate is a happy man. Not as giddy as last week, but definitely a happy man.

Cutie Girls

Oh My Oh My Oh Holly Anne!!

*This email contains very biased and possibly nauseating details about my youngest daughter. I'm sorry, I just love her too much.

So I need to figure out how to upload images from the web. (Hey you, imaginary personal secretary, add that to my to-do list). Anyway, this post would be cuter if I had the cover of that Sandra Boynton book "Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs!" on here, but oh well! Use your imaginations (obviously I use mine on a very regular basis, see above).

The point of this post is to tell you all how precious Holly is. She is an absolute gem. I can't stand it!! Even when she's kind of grouchy she's still so cute. She's started "reading" and "singing" lately, finishing our sentences for us. Listening to her read this Dinosaur book about kills me every time. Hearing her little voice say words like "plump", "lean", "red-blue-lellow-eeen(green)" and listening to her try to finish our phrases in "I Love to See the Temple" - even on key - is just too much for my heart to handle. It feels like it's going to burst sometimes. I know, I know, I'm not the only mom out there who feels this way. And for all you Dads out there, Nate feels exactly the same way, so that's encouraging. These kinds of heart conditions are not just for women - men can share in our love-pain. :)

Oh, and Holly's hair is long enough for 2 tiny piggies in the back that curl into these ridiculous little circles. Her favorite time of day, hands-down, is "jumpin' on the bed" time with Sydney. It is so great to watch. More heart pain, but again, it's a good kind of pain. I think it must be like when you exercise and your muscles hurt like crazy when you're done, but really they're just getting stronger. I think all the love-pain my children give me helps strengthen my heart, increasing my capactiy to love.

BYU vs. UCLA

59-0. Yes, that's fifty-nine - zip. My husband was a happy - no, giddy - man this afternoon! Enough said.

P.S. Go Cougs!

Princess Cake & First Day of Preschool

Sydney has been dying to make a "princess cake" from this princess recipe book she got from Grammie & Bumpa awhile back. Anyway, we finally got around to making one the other weekend. No, it wasn't anyone's birthday, that was just the best crown for the job (and of course the selection of crowns around here is vast). :)

Also, today was her first day at Building Blocks Preschool, a preschool run out of a local Christian church. This preschool meets once a week, every Tuesday, and she'll be doing another preschool that also meets once a week, run through a different Christian church in town, on Thursdays. I'm already partial to the Tuesday preschool because it's located about 2 minutes from my house, whereas the other one is 25 minutes one way. She had a happy day today and had lots to show & tell us when she came home.

Venus Breeze

This is the razor that insures a smooth shave while using only water, no shaving cream necessary. My experience with this razor has been the following: amazing after one use; after several uses, I had to start using shaving cream to help it along; after less than one month the razor still works, although it's clumsy, and it leaves more razorburn than other razors out there I've tried. Bottom line: don't switch from your favorite razor to this one unless you can afford to switch razor heads once every 2 weeks!

Rainstorm!

On Friday, the girls and I drove to the Arboretum to meet a good friend for a walk. We have met Melissa, baby Eden and puppy Saul many times to go for walks there, and we love the spot - great scenery, paved walking trail, just the right amount of hills. Just as we pulled up, it began sprinkling and so Melissa asked me if maybe we should bag it and try another time. I said we should wait it out. In the back of my mind I was thinking how just days earlier the weatherman was saying that we wouldn't have any rain for a week, although we needed it. So we wait a few minutes and then venture out. We walked along, no problems, until about 2/3 of the way through our walk. It began raining rather steadily, so we ducked under a large tree for shade. (And no, there was no thunder or lightning.) After about 10 minutes, we were getting soaked just standing there, and there was no sign of the rain letting up, so we made a run for it. By this time, Holly was crying, Eden was cryinig, even puppy Saul was crying, and we were all totally dripping wet. There was nothing for us to do but run through the sheets of rain, my feet sloshing and squishing in my flooded shoes. Luckily for the girls and me, Melissa had some clean sheets in her trunk she was planning on donating to Goodwill, so I "dried off" the girls as best I could and I drove us home, sitting in an inch of rainwater, drenched from head to foot. After I got home and we dried off, my mother-in-law informed me that the remnants of hurricane Gustav had just blown through Lexington, apparently the storm that we had just experienced. Moral of the story: check the weather before you go on walks with your children! And that is why I am adding weather.com to my list of favorite sites list...